Chief: Break-ins slowed, no suspects in custody

Smith went on to say that Stuttgart residents should call (870) 673-1414 and report any suspicious behavior to the department.

Leigh Kreimeierlkreimeier@stuttgartdailyleader.com

Stuttgart Police Department Chief Mike Smith says the recent string of residential break-ins have slowed and the department has suspects, but no one is in custody at this time.

“A majority of the break-ins have stopped,” Smith said Tuesday, during the Stuttgart City Council meeting. Smith said the department has interviewed possible suspects.

Smith went on to say that Stuttgart residents should call (870) 673-1414 and report any suspicious behavior to the department.

“Anything that looks suspicious,” he said, from vehicles to people. “You are not bothering us — we need all the help we can get.”

He explained some residents don’t call to report suspicious activity because they feel the information is not substantial. Any information in these cases will be helpful and could possibly lead to an eventual arrest.

Six new reports have been filed with the department since the Daily Leader updated the break-in case on Tuesday, March 26.

SPD Ptl. Kyle Stokes took a report from a woman in the 700 block of North Grand who said someone busted a window at her home and stole seven tablets of her prescription medication. The break-in took place between 12:45 p.m. and 1:19 p.m. on March 27.

On March 29 between 4 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., someone broke into a woman’s vehicle and stole the woman’s purse.

“She was inside the house just having (woken) up and heard a large bang and (then) went outside to see what the noise was and she saw that a window had been busted out on her car and her purse was stolen,” SPD Ptl. George Bethell wrote in his incident report.

A brick was found in the floorboard of the car. The woman’s purse was described as grey and contained numerous bank and debit cards as well as two social security cards.

On March 31 between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., a man’s residence was broken into. The victim reported that he had to be admitted into the hospital and when he returned to his home, located in the 1000 block of East First, his front door was open. The suspect(s) broke into the home through the front door and left through the bathroom window, SPD Ptl. Seneca Thornton wrote in his incident report. Nothing was reported stolen.

Between 6 p.m. on March 31 and 8 a.m. on April 1 someone took a gaming console from an unlocked vehicle in the 1400 block of South Lowe. The victim said she had placed her children’s black XBox 360 underneath the back seat of her vehicle. The gaming console was estimated to be worth $300, according to SPD Ptl. Jeffery Bokker’s incident report.

On April 2 between 10 p.m. and 10:34 p.m., someone broke into a home located in the 1000 block of North Porter.

“(The victim) stated that she had just left her home for a few minutes to get some cigarettes,” SPD Sgt. Phil Bogy wrote in his incident report. “She stated that when she returned home she found that the back door had been broken down.”

An XBox 360, Compaq laptop computer, $60 in cash and $20 in loose change were stolen from the home.

The last report filed came from the 1200 block of East Harrison. Sometime between 5:30 a.m. on April 3 and 3:30 p.m. on April 4 someone broke into a home located in the 1200 block of East Harrison.

The resident said the suspect(s) stole a black flat screen television, XBox and a PlayStation 3.

“I noticed there were pry marks on the front door. It appears that the unknown suspect came in by force through the front door and took the items that were all located in the living room,” SPD Ptl. Cody Eason wrote in his incident report. Eason spoke with several of the man’s neighbors who reported that they did not see anything during that time.

Officers caught a break on Saturday, March 23, when they recovered one Stuttgart man's property and recovered another firearm.

The victim told officers that someone had broken into his home, in the 1200 block of E. Harrison, between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. and stolen numerous firearms. At 6:10 p.m. the victim contacted police and said he spoke to a man who witnessed "some people" carrying weapons into a residence in the 1200 block of East Harrison.

The officers surrounded the home and saw a gun barrel sticking out of a blanket through one of the home's windows. The owner of the home arrived and told officers that he was renting the home to his niece. He allowed the officers in the home as he went inside. Four firearms were found inside the home. The victim was able to identify three of the four as his property.

No further information on possible suspects is being released as this time as the incident is still under investigation.

Officers filed three other break-in reports during that week. One that occurred sometime between 6:35 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Smith arrived in the 400 block of South Anna on March 16. Sometime between 5 p.m. on March 19 and 6:35 a.m. on March 20 the suspect(s) gained entry to the woman's car in the 600 block of West Washington. On Friday an officer was dispatched to the 1000 block of North Buerkle to an apartment where the resident said sometime between 4:50 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, and 10:40 p.m. on Friday, March 22, she returned home and found her front door open and her 43-inch flat screen Samsung television missing.

On Wednesday, March 13, SPD officers turned in six reports that included residential burglary or breaking or entering/articles from a vehicle. On Monday, March 11, there were 11 more reports with the same possible charges. Four more were reported on Thursday, March 14.

There has been a total of 30 break-in reports filed inside Stuttgart's city limits since Tuesday, March 5.